The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Bahraini Foods. If you manage to be in an Bahraini restaurant or you are visiting Bahrain, I recommend the following:
1. Machboos
It is one of the most famous dishes in Bahrain and is usually served with meat, fish, chicken or shrimp. This dish differs from Saudi Kabsa, despite the similarity in shape and color. The strong lemon and black pepper flavor dissipates the Bahreinian Machboos.
2. Egyptian Sweet Pastry Dessert
It is a cake made with crushed walnut paste separated by filo pastry and covered with a sweet syrup or honey syrup. Nowadays we can find this traditional cake of Arab cuisine in many establishments, in large supermarkets or in Arab products stores. A unique opportunity to taste one of the most traditional and historical sweets in the country.
3. Biryani
Biryani is spicy rice cooked with meat (sometimes with vegetables). It is offered as a single item. It is a very popular dish throughout the Indian subcontinent. Each region adapted the original recipe in its own way. Therefore, there is a wide variety of biryani recipes with different combinations of meat and vegetables. The spice mixtures vary from region to region. But the fundamentals remain the same.
4. Ghoozi
It is the most festive dish in Bahrain. It is a whole roasted lamb stuffed with chicken, rice and eggs. Originally to make it, a whole lamb is roasted and served on a bed of rice, vegetables and nuts.
5. Falafel
Falafel is a very typical dish of that country. It is a mashed mixture of chickpeas hydrated in water with onion, garlic and different herbs and spices. This dough is then rolled, fried in abundant oil and served, generally, with pita bread and yogurt sauce.
6. Samboosa
They are similar to Moroccan briouats, like very small and crunchy pasties made with phyllo dough, fried or baked. In Bahrain it is common for them to be filled with spicy chicken and there are also some with cheese.
7. Muhammar
Muhammar is a very common dish in Bahrain consisting of sweet rice with spices. You would think that it is a dessert. However, it is not. To accompany this rice, a grilled or baked white fish, with a touch of citrus and some spices, is delicious.
8. Bahraini Halwa
Halwa is an Arabic word meaning sweet. Most Halwa is made with semolina flour, but the Bahraini recipe differs in that it is made with cornstarch and canola oil. It is a starchy pudding mixed with ground cardamom seeds, saffron, sugar and butter, which is usually taken before coffee.
9. Harees
A traditional dish served during the month of Ramadan consisting of a combination of wheat and meat that is cooked to the consistency of porridge, with melted lard on top.
10. Mahyawa
This appetizing black, salty and spicy sauce is made from small fish called sardines, and people accompany it with bread and other foods, the local art of making mahyawa incredibly delicious. It is usually served on a variety of thin, crusty breads.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional Asian Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.